Upcycled Xmas Tree: 2022 in Review.
I started the year with a commitment to do better — within the reasonable confines of my regular life, without quitting anything or joining a commune or going over the top in any significant way. I thought I’d write a quick collection of my winning efforts, partially to make myself feel better after a grueling year and partially in the hopes that perhaps I might inspire someone somewhere to take a first step.
It’s like building that rubber-band ball: the hardest part is getting started.
Here’s a collection of stuff I did, bought or discovered. I’m receiving no celebrity endorsements, but could absolutely be convinced to reconsider.
Stuff I did:
My population:1,200 town did not have a Buy Nothing group, so I started a “stuff for free” group on facebook. Mixed reviews, mostly good, we’re up to 500+ participants. Sadly, some folks got scammed as they were asked to pay for postage to cover shipping for items when the would-be giver was far away. We put a few rules in place, specifically one around the fact that $$ would not change hands. When I tried to dig in to understand more about how folks were scammed, it sounded like the idea of giving things away for free just opened the door to mayhem. I was most sad to hear someone say, “Everything is a red flag. Someone around here giving away something for free is a red flag.”
Such a surprisingly heavy lesson. In other news:
I continued to bury my food waste and cover it stealthily with our dead Xmas trees of years past and large rocks. I have fooled the bears, for now.
I buy spices and tea at a local bulk/refill store, and head to the farmers markets as often as possible.
I started mending stuff — even bought a book and everything. Despite the book, however, my mending skills remain unimpressive and utilitarian and mostly aspirational.
I sent those well-loved legos back to LEGO for washing and redistribution. I hope every parent can experience the joy of shipping off legos.
I planted things. I have yet to see a decent harvest — with a yield equating roughly to a cup and a half of mint tea — but I did infact make the effort, and some of those plants didn’t immediately die.
I found an Ebay Guy, an ecommerce seller, and a home for all of my packaging.
Finally, I finally made holiday fabric gift bags this year. May our future holiday gift wrapping be completed in 30 second or less.
Stuff I bought:
Deodorant at Ray’s Reusables. Hallelujah and Praise Be: my decade-long and deeply-socially-awkward search for natural deodorant has ended.
Cleaning supplies (all purpose cleaner, window cleaner, floor cleaner,) at Etee
Dishwashing tabs, compostable sponge, toilet bowl cleaner at Blueland
Laundry pellets at Dropps
Toothpaste at Bite
Bamboo Toothbrush at Etee
Bamboo TP and Paper towels from PlantPaper
Razor at Leaf
No more wasted hotel or guest soaps! Mesh soap bag for travel soaps at Ray’s Reusables
Bamboo travel utensils
Terracycle: Kitchen Seperation box for the win, it’s worth waiting for the Earth Day sale for this one.
For Days fabric recycling bag.
Compostable Cat litter: Whether you can/should compost cat litter is a question that I don’t have the science brain to answer. It says it’s biodegradable, so I bury it, but don’t try and use the composted breakdown for anything. Out princess cat and her pee is toxic.
Getting Weird:
More rags! Placed bar rags at the dinner table to encourage less paper towel usage
Bringing my own takeout containers to the restaurant? Shockingly not one person told me I couldn’t.
Does paper really get recycled? Should I burn it instead? I set out to ask questions like this and others in one forum which will hopefully attract the industry experts that I most certainly am not.
Not new this year, but always fun:
We melt down crayons to make bigger chunkier crayons for our tiny cousins. My 3rd grader brought home a huge pile of unwanted crayons this year, and we used this mold, so fun for us.
Candle making — the gifts that allow us to reuse all the cool containers
Paper making — to be honest, we did this once and it was not only exhausting, but it burnt out my blender. I aspire to give this another go in 2023.
What am I collecting:
I’ve found homes for these things in the past, and in my move from Philly I’ve had trouble finding new homes for all this stuff. Still, I will quietly compile until my husband threatens marital action:
Sneakers
Corks, Batteries, Cooking Oil (recycled at our county “Convenience Center”
Beer and Soda Caps (not sure why I’m compelled to collect these)
Rubber Bands, Safety Pins, Paper Clips
Bread Ties: universe, find me a use for these before they take over my life please
Fully depleted shoes
Old markers
And that brings it home for 2022 efforts, in the books.
